Well I must admit that I was a bit disappointed by yesterday's episode of The Rupert, James, and Rebekah show.
All of them blamed everybody but themselves, and the old man ate so much humble pie I thought he was going to shit himself.
Murdoch admitted that testifying before a parliamentary committee was the "most humble day of my life."
But asked if he accepted that he was "ultimately responsible for this whole fiasco," Murdoch replied: "Nope."
And that was before that idiot threw the shaving cream pie, and turned the hearing into a ghastly episode of that third-rate wrestling sitcom Nobody Messes With Wendi.
The hero of Tuesday’s hearings will not be found among the tired political figures trying to score points at Murdoch’s expense, or the journalist competitors to his media empire who salaciously report on every twist in this story of media misbehavior, in part out of self-interest.
The hero of Tuesday’s hearing is a woman who did not wait for some rent-a-cop to come to her aid or who trembled in horror at the malicious prank. Wendi was woman; hear her roar.
Gawd. Those Fox News flunkies must be desperate. But that's NOT the ending I wanted.
I was hoping for something better...
But then Rosebud has tried to play Mr Nice Guy before.
Back in the early Eighties, when Rupert Murdoch had his back up against the wall, he went on a charm offensive to silence his critics. Harry Evans, the great journalist and then Sunday Times editor, recalled one cynical peer observing: “The wolf has started sucking lozenges to sweeten its breath.”
Even though he's far more convincing when he plays himself...
(Click pics to enlarge)
Modda Fokka.
And so is Rebekah...
But then she has a lot on her mind eh? She has to make sure she tells everyone the same story she told the police. And hope that the cops believe her AND her husband.
Police are examining a computer, paperwork and a phone found in a bin near the home of the former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, it was reported last night.
A bag containing the objects was found yesterday in a car park underneath a shopping centre close to her London home. According to a reports last night, Ms Brooks' husband, Charlie, tried to reclaim the bag from security, but a guard refused to release it when Mr Brooks could not prove it was his.
And of course NOBODY is more embarrassed than the Con Prime Minister David Cameron. He has to explain why he was always having drinkies with Rebekah and Charlie. Why some of his closest advisers worked for Murdoch, and are now being arrested.
And why after his election victory, he invited Rupert to 10 Downing Street to kiss his ass thank him for his support. But asked him to slip in quietly through the BACK door.
Golly. Maybe I was a bit too harsh. Yesterday's episode may have ended badly eh?
But I'm quite confident it's going to get WORSE...
Monday was the 93rd birthday of my greatest living hero, Nelson Mandela.
Tributes poured in from all over the world, and South Africans celebrated by singing songs for him, and performing small acts of kindness.
It's a day when people in South Africa try a little kindness — 67 minutes' worth — in honor of the 67 years that Mandela worked for equality in the African nation, from 1942 until his retirement from public life in 2009.
They are all good ideas, but 67 minutes, or even a whole day, seem to me far too puny to honour a giant like Mandela.
I admire him for so many reasons. But it's for helping an angry, sometimes violent, bullied teenager understand that seeking revenge for what others might have done to you is not the way to go, that I am most grateful.
As Sebastien said: "He could have hanged a racist from every tree in South Africa. He had every reason to demand revenge for all the years his enemies stole from him. But he was better than them so he didn't."
So now I try to fight injustice in different, better, more peaceful ways, to help keep his legacy alive.
And try to become a better person.
One way to carry on his legacy is to live by his example. Take a few minutes to examine prejudices you may have. Make a personal resolution to let go of them. Encourage the people in your life do the same.
Speak out against injustice when you see it. Don't accept prejudice. Learn to recognize bullying and harassment.
Today I set out to hand out some chilled bottles of water to the homeless in my neighbourhood, because it was brutally hot. The mission was a complete failure. The homeless weren't there, thank goodness. And I had to drink half the water to keep from passing out myself. Duh.
But it doesn't matter. It's the thought action that counts. Tomorrow is another day.
They say it's a hard city to love. When I moved here a few years ago my friends in Montreal said I'd absolutely hate it. That they didn't call it Hogtown for nothing eh? And that I'd probably die of boredom.
But actually I've become rather fond of this big old town on the lake, and some of the people who call it home. So I really hate to see how Rob Ford and his right-wing hogs are trying to rip its guts out.
I still can't believe that a grubby homophobe could be mayor of the most diverse city in the world. I can't believe how a crass millionaire could have the indecency to deny help to some of the city's most vulnerable people.
Once again, Mayor Rob Ford was the lone member on City Council to vote against grant money earmarked to HIV/AIDS related programs.
The vote capped two days at council that saw Ford vote against six other community development grants programs that improve the lives of the city’s seniors, immigrants, the poor and the disabled.
I can't believe that in the 21st Century a mayor of a modern city is encouraging people to use cars instead of public transit, and declaring war on bikes. When Toronto is choking in its own fumes. And has the highest rate of car/bike collisions in Canada.
I can't believe that so many people were suckered by the Fordzilla's gaseous emissions about stopping the "Gravy Train." And how he was just the man to do it...
When in fact there is no "Gravy Train." And he doesn't know what he's doing.
But that isn't stopping him from trying to change Toronto beyond recognition.
This week’s dizzying blitz of proposed service cuts sets up another round of daily offerings, starting Monday — an orchestrated raid with one main goal: the sacking of Toronto the Good, Toronto the Beautiful, Toronto the Caring, Toronto the Livable.
I can't believe that it has come to that. I can't believe it has come to this.
Chaleff-Freudenthaler wrote in the complaint that Ford “accosted” him outside the council chamber. Speaking in an “aggressive tone,” Chaleff-Freudenthaler wrote, Ford told him to be “prepared” for something Ford didn't identify.
Chaleff-Freudenthaler wrote that he sought to “de-escalate the situation” by declining to “engage” with Ford, but that Ford continued to speak threateningly. Eventually, Chaleff-Freudenthaler wrote, Ford told him that he “should be careful because ‘what goes around comes around.’”
And this from the gang that didn't hesitate to use dirty tricks during the last election. Remember?
Oh boy. As I said before I'm a Montrealer eh? I'm just visiting. But if the good people of Toronto want to save their city they better get cracking.
Take to the streets. March on City Hall. Call in the cops. Sign a petition. Do what they have to do to drive the Fordzilla and his right-wing goons from office.
And if they do I'll be there to help them. Because it's a horrible thing to see a great city dying. This is a Canadian tragedy, and enough is ENOUGH.
David Cameron's Cons are getting hammered in the polls.
And some columnists in Britain are finally asking the question that can be avoided no longer. The one I've been dying to ask.
Why was the bully Murdoch allowed to get away with it for so long?
Whether in the schoolyard or the boardroom, bullies are powerful, invariably surrounded by a loyal clique, and ruthless in maintaining their dominance over others.
The collapse of the power of the greatest bully of our times, Rupert Murdoch, is thus profoundly refreshing and enabling.
Bullies are only vulnerable when they are openly and comprehensively defied. And in this, Westminster has singularly and overwhelmingly failed. Who can doubt that Murdoch could have been taken on and defeated many years ago, if we, together with the politicians and the police, had seen the scrawny nakedness behind the Emperor's New Clothes and called his bluff?
But of course our corporate media can't ask that question, because they have totally failed to call our own mad Emperor's bluff...
Which leads me to my last question. Can Rupert Murdoch rehabilitate his image stay out of jail?
Perhaps it is too much to hope for that Rupert Murdoch might follow in the path of Conrad Black. However, if Andy Coulson should find himself in the cells, and James Murdoch is under investigation, who knows where it might end?
For the last two weeks I was lucky to have been in Britain as the Rupert Murdoch / News International scandal hit that country like a massive meteorite, rocking its very foundations.
It was an awesome spectacle. The torrent of outrage, the angry debates in Parliament, the unrelenting media coverage, the sight of the Con Prime Minister trying to explain why his former media advisor, and close friend, was arrested.
Or trying to dodge questions about his cozy relationship with Murdoch's dragon lady Rebekah Brooks, whose enormous country estate is only a mile away from where the Camerons live. And who frequently came over for drinkies.
Or the police chief trying to explain why Murdoch's minions had been able to hack so many phones, bribe police officers, and get away with it for so long.
And needless to say I found the whole sordid show hugely entertaining...
Mr Murdoch arrived in London yesterday, wearing a Panama hat and clutching a final copy of the News of the World, in a bid to save his crumbling organisation after the phone-hacking scandal saw the 168-year-old paper axed.
But he flew straight into another storm as it was claimed 9/11 victims may have had their mobiles tapped by News of the World reporters.
Because NOTHING could hurt Fox News as much as being associated with the defilement of those victims.
And the Fox News Gang knows that this story is bad news. So they're not touching it with a "ten foot turban."
Which just about says it all about what kind of "journalists" and people work at Murdoch's Krazy Con network.
My only regret ? Last Sunday in Scotland, my brother bought me a copy of the News of the World's last edition. He said it might be worth something in about fifty years. But after glancing at that hideous tabloid wanking away about its "proud" record of filth, sexism, and scandal, I tossed it into the recycling bin.
Only to think later that I should have tossed it onto the barbeque and made a YouTube of it burning. I'm sure it would have been my most popular video ever eh?
Especially if I had roasted a pig that looked like Stephen Harper Rupert Murdoch over its smouldering embers.
But sadly others beat me to the idea.
And they did it better...
Now imagine Fox News roasting over that sewer grate.
Or better still our own Con media getting grilled for polishing Stephen Harper's ample arse with their noses.
What about the Murdochian impulse to control politics along a right-wing axis? Well, the National Post was clearly created in 1998 to push Canadian journalism rightward and has had smashing success. In last May’s election, every daily in Canada, except the Star and the smallish Le Devoir, endorsed Stephen Harper. Even in the last U.K. election you didn’t get such uniformity.
Mmmmm....slurp....drool.
What did somebody say about Stephen Harper the other day?
Well I have to say that as I lay on those grassy dunes, staring up at the clouds, listening to the roar of the waves, drinking in the fresh North Sea air, it was really easy to forget the horrible sights, the grunting sounds, and the foul stench of Harperland.
Especially since the only Canadian news I saw on Scottish TV was a few seconds of Great Majority Leader and the royal couple, wearing cowboy hats at the Redneck Stampede.
Which was just as well eh?
Because if I'd known that the Great Harpony didn't just look ridiculous, but was also sounding like a man possessed.
“Conservative values are Canadian values.”
Thus spoke Stephen Harper in front of 900 hootin’ and hollerin’ supporters at the Calgary Stampede. The Liberal era was basically over, he claimed, gone like “disco balls and bell bottoms.” The citizens of this great land have moved into the Tory temple and “Canada is more united than ever.”
A lost cause is only a lost cause if you don't believe in it enough.
More than 250 years later Scotland is still here. And while the Con government in London is planning to slash medicare, raise tuition fees, and privatize schools and hospitals.
The Scots are expanding their medicare system, delivering more and better services for seniors, and providing their kids with free university educations.
Which only goes to prove that you can have the country you want, if you are prepared to fight for it.
And that sooner or later all tyrants bite the dust.
All things considered, Mr. Harper must feel he has the golden touch. He must feel that he can get away with anything. But when you’re the man on the mountaintop, as he is right now, that sense of invincibility can be destructive. Hubris takes over when what is most necessary – given that from the pinnacle, the only remaining route is down – is humility.
But of course now I'm home, and staring at this horror show...
So now I don't know what to say eh?
Except does that sinister Con drag queen have a costume for EVERY voice in his head?
When he gets tired of playing a cop, or a hockey "expert", will he play Margaret Thatcher or Mussolini ?
And if so when can I get my money country back?
And of course, holidays are wonderful, and a great escape from Harperland.
But as we say in Scottish...Och aye the noo broon coo.
I realize it's probably not the best time to leave Canada. Canadian summers are so short eh?
But the truth is I can't wait to leave, because politically speaking this has been the worst summer EVAH. First the Cons got a majority, and then it started to rain.
And it won't be too hard to give up blogging either, because if all the yelling and shrieking in the progressive blogosphere was light, the truth would be blinding. But all I see are people wailing in The Great Darkness. Especially if they are Liberals.
And since I love all progressives and my blogging family, that makes me sad.
I also realize that I'll be missing Pride Week, and the Gay Pride Parade. But at least I won't have to endure the debate over whether the Fordzilla is a homophobe. When that's exactly what he is.
By deciding not to attend this year’s parade, the mayor is reinforcing the stereotypical notion of Pride as nothing more than a queer fest for cruising homos. In that sense, the mayor is delegitimatizing an entire community, an influential and important one, whose members also have kids, mortgages and dreams and aspirations for their loved ones, just like the mayor.
And you can't put lipstick on that pig...
Besides, on a higher note, they say you have to leave Canada to write about it.
So maybe I can figure out what flaw in our national character caused us to be known as the Ugly Canadians.
Doctors from many countries have implored Canada for years to change its ways. The Lancet, a leading medical journal, has underscored the dangers of asbestos. The World Health Organization has warned that “at least 90,000 people die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis resulting from occupational exposures.” Doctors from Canada (including Quebec) and abroad have signed petitions, sent letters, organized delegations – all to no avail.
So I'm hardly about to give up on the Canada I love so much. Or stop attacking Emperor Harper. Or stop trying to knock down the walls of poverty, ignorance, and bigotry.
And I know that if we unite and help each other, we CAN defeat the Cons.
So I think I'll just wrap this up with a message of hope.
And this great new song that stands for just about EVERYTHING I believe in...
Well I see the great postal filibuster has ended. The NDP has surrendered to reality. The union-bashing Cons got what they wanted. The workers were shafted.
And at least the NDP defined itself as THE opposition party, and appears to recognize the importance of symbolic protest.
In fact, symbolically, the NDP Commons filibuster over back-to-work legislation has been brilliant. It has gone on long enough to portray New Democrats as the party willing to defy Harper.
But, so far at least, it has not gone on so long that it materially harms the public and, in particular, those small business operators dependent on mail service whose votes the NDP hopes to attract.
Because now that the HarperCons have a majority, that's the only kind of protest we've got left.
Although I also note that Brigette DePape has some ideas in that regard.
"When they tell us to stay home they are trying to get us to forget that the power of the people in the streets is greater than the power of any government."
But here's the question. How far are we really prepared to go to block the Harper Agenda? And how many Canadians are prepared to stick their necks out to defend Canada? Like Tim DeChristopher is prepared to do to save the planet.
I ask that question because I recently watched a video of DeChristopher addressing the Power Shift conference in April.
And it was one of the most riveting speeches I think I've ever seen...
So how far are Canadians prepared to go?
I have no idea. I guess it depends on how far the Cons are prepared to go. And how much we love our country.
But I do know a couple of things eh?
If Tim DeChristopher ever runs for President of the World I'd vote for him.
Thanks to the NDP and Brigette DePape, the power of peaceful protest is alive and kicking in this country.
It took a long time, even in the place where the gay rights revolution was born. Every homophobic group in Amerika tried to stop it. But tonight the state of New York finally legalized gay marriage.
Here's the historic vote as covered by Rachel Maddow:
Can you believe it? Almost 42 years to the day since the Stonewall Uprising, gays and lesbians in that state have finally won the right to celebrate their love.
I dedicate this moment to Patrick, and all those who could not live to see this day. But they are with us now in Heaven, and we can know at least we - and so many straight people - did not let them down.
You think it’s going to stop with this? You think now bigamists are going to want their rights to marry? You think somebody that wants to marry his sister is going to now say “I have a right”? I mean, it’s the same principle, isn’t it?
You know...the Empire State Building is decked out in the rainbow colours these days to mark Pride Week.
Holy Lady Gaga. Sometimes it's not easy to be gay eh? When the bigots aren't trying to kill you, the Christianist closet queens are trying to "cure" you.
In the United States their hugging fondling praying cousins at Exodus International recently had an app removed by Apple.
But in this country the eggy freaks at EGA are able to promote the same harmful nonsense, and suck up hoover up donations as a registered CHARITY !!!!!
But now finally, some are taking aim at that scam thanks to the excellent work of my awesome brother Mark at Slap Upside the Head.
So please sign his petition, because it's the best way to put those phonies out of business. And since Stephen Harper shares their views and believes that homosexuality is a choice, so can presumably be "cured," it won't be easy.
As for the "ex-gay" movement, as someone who came out at the age of thirteen and has been fighting bigots and bullies ever since. All I want to say to those self-haters is this:
Closet queens PUH......LEAZE.Get a grip on yourselves...uh...metaphorically speaking. And repeat after me:
Hooray you're gay
And gay is never going to go away.
Or better still, sing it with the Juliettes...
Yup. As I was saying. Sometimes it's not easy to be gay eh?
